His parting words to Oliver Bierhoff raise concerns that Hansi Flick could give up as national coach. With a little distance to the preliminary round at the World Cup, Flick now makes it clear: He will continue. And he expresses wishes for the future of the national team.
Hansi Flick does not make his future as national coach dependent on the pending decision on a successor to DFB managing director Oliver Bierhoff. “I am convinced that it will work. It was never a thought for me to resign. The exchange with Bernd Neuendorf and Hans-Joachim Watzke is good, we have a good basis,” said Flick.
A good two weeks after the early World Cup failure of the national soccer team in Qatar, the 57-year-old has high hopes for the work of the two working groups set up at the German Soccer Association. He defended the expert council around Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Oliver Kahn and Matthias Sammer against criticism that they were not heterogeneously cast. “First of all, you have to see that they are absolute personalities in German football, who all have a lot of experience. They know what is important. That’s why I think it’s great that they have agreed to offer advice,” said Flick .
The committee is to provide decisive support to the DFB leadership in the search for a successor to Bierhoff. Flick defended his statements, which some interpreted as a possible threat of resignation, after leaving Bierhoff almost two weeks ago. “My words about Oliver Bierhoff were important to me. I know how quickly it can happen. The king is dead, long live the king. That doesn’t do him justice. I wanted to pay tribute to him. We are now on the DFB campus “, said the national coach. “Without him we would still be in the Otto Fleck lane. Oliver has done a lot for German football, I wanted to express that.”
Irrespective of this, he will cooperate intensively with the future Bierhoff legacy. “And that doesn’t mean that I don’t work with his successor in a spirit of trust,” said Flick about his statements per Bierhoff. Flick “did not want to rate” the fact that his end after 18 years with the DFB and most recently three tournament disappointments was inevitable. “Once again: Oliver Bierhoff gave a lot to German football. He’s no obstacle if you want to be successful.”
For Flick, however, the work-up goes much further. The 57-year-old complained that the World Cup was politicized, the mood among the fans at home was bad, and far too many topics aside from football. With the “One Love” bandage as the culmination point. Flick wants to bring the focus back to football. “That’s our job – it would be nice if we were allowed to do that. Others are trained for politics,” he criticized the public expectations of his team and German politics. “French President Emmanuel Macron said, in essence, ‘football is becoming too politicised. Our players should focus on football. I do politics.” That would have been a good sign, also for us,” he said.
Flick sees himself and his players as committed to the disappointed fans. “We owe it. We have to generate enthusiasm again,” said Flick. The general mood didn’t improve after the tournament in Qatar. “As a team, we want to show the fans: We get it, we want to give everything, we want to play for Germany, we’re proud of it and we’re looking forward to this home European Championship.”